Actor Ajitesh Gupta, who is currently seen in the web show 'Ghar Waapsi', is receiving praises for his role. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
Your role in 'Ghar Waapsi' has been receiving so much love, how are you feeling about it?
I am truly ecstatic with the kind of response I am getting. As an actor you work hard and hope that you are able to perform to your full potential, and that your work gets noticed and that is what is happening to me with Ghar Waapsi. I am full of gratitude.
What was on your mind before taking up a layered yet relatable character of Darshan in 'Ghar Waapsi'?
I was extremely kicked. I fell in love with the character the moment I read the script. It was challenging but I took the challenge head-on. Honestly, I had been waiting to get an opportunity of this sort where I could showcase my skills in front of the camera. Also, the timing was great because it came at a point in my career when I was ready for it. In fact for Darshan, I haven’t put on a mask to become the character, what I tried to do was to reveal who I was deep down and blend that in with the character. I believe more in the ‘process’ than the ‘result’ and learning the Indori dialect was extremely exciting and I knew I could do it because of my past learnings from performances as a Daastaango, from my work in theatre and as a voiceover artist.
You have also recently worked with Imtiaz Ali and Kumud Mishra, tell us about your role?
I play the character of SP Tej Pratap Singh Tomar in Dr. Arora. He is the Superintendent of Police at Morena District. He is a firebrand Police Officer famous for encounters of dacoits of the region and ‘cleansing’ the area of crime. So much so, that his name is in the Limca Book of World Records for the maximum number of encounters in a month. Everybody is scared of him but inside his house, he shares a sweet relationship with his wife Mitthu. He suffers from premature ejaculation and feels guilty of not being able to satisfy his wife. There are two completely different sides to him, one inside the house which is effeminate, shy and cuddly and the other outside the house which is an attempt to be ultra-masculine, angry and threatening. In fact, he is always over compensating for his effeminacy by being ultra-masculine and trigger happy so that he can be called a man enough.
Were you skeptical in taking up SP Tomar’s role in Dr. Arora? Were you immediately open to taking up this topic?
Well, it was a dream come true to be working with Imtiaz Ali and I was extremely excited. Plus, I was so glad I was getting to play SP Tomar. Layered characters like these are an actor’s delight and I was more than happy that I will be putting myself in SP Tomar's shoes. As far as the question of taking up this topic is concerned, I knew that if Imtiaz Ali is involved, he will deal with the topic in a sensitive and dignified way. Also, one purpose that art fulfils is that it brings subtle changes in the fabric of society and sexual health as a topic needs to be spoken of. I appreciate makers who take risks like these of taking the road less travelled. Making Dr. Arora is one such road and I was happy to hop on the wagon.
Having done films like 'Kedarnath' and 'Helicopter Eela' how do you assess your journey so far?
Well, I am full of gratitude. Like many others, I began with doing 2-3 second blink and miss parts, and then progressed to 1-2 scenes; in fact, in the films you’ve mentioned above I had just a couple of scenes. A point came in my career when I realised that this industry only gives you what you deserve at any particular time. I know that back in the day I was not a good enough actor who could pull off Darshan Bafna or a SP Tomar. It is the hard work that I have put in the past 3 years that has made me an artiste worthy of playing primary characters. I am glad that I had people around me who could motivate and guide me on this journey. Manav Kaul being the most pivotal with whom I have done most of my theatre work. In retrospect, I realise it was by working in these films with fantastic actors that I could understand what I needed to learn to get better at my skills.
Did having a theatre background make acting one step easier for you?
I can’t say it has made it easier. Actually it has taught me that acting isn’t easy. You need to train, learn, introspect, understand, fail and only then do you succeed. It is my theatre work that has made me capable of playing these characters today. Theatre is where I have honed my skills, gathered the tools and applied myself. I have failed many a times but have also succeeded and every small success gave me faith in myself. You need to invest in art before art starts giving back to you. I want to continue doing theatre because I aspire to develop the skillset that actors like Kumud Mishra and Atul Srivastava have. I have been fortunate to witness them create magic while working with them in Dr. Arora and Ghar Waapsi.
Do you think an actor is stereotyped if he plays a hero’s friend in films or OTT shows? Are you afraid of being stereotyped?
Yes, if you do too much of it, there is a risk. Thankfully, Darshan was not like that. He had his own arc and was pivotal to the storytelling. I am very careful as to what I choose to do in the future. It is okay if I do less work but one thing I am sure of is that I don’t want to repeat myself.
What’s next?
There are 2 projects in the pipeline. One that I have already shot for, and the other will commence shooting in August. I am excited for both these projects as the characters I am playing in them are completely different from my previous works. In fact, in one of them, I am playing a Bengali and in the other a Bhojpuri. I am working on learning these new accents and am glad my past work in theatre is helping me immensely today. Apart from this, I am researching towards writing a play that I want to perform as an hour long solo act on stage. It is going to be a huge challenge and I am scared yet excited for the same. Fingers crossed.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
